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Background: This study aims to identify trends, research gaps, leading journals, institutions, countries, and authors by examining the top 100 cited Yttrium-90 Radioembolization (Y90) research articles. The insights gained will assist funding and collaboration efforts in Y90 research. The team analyzed 981 articles from 36 peer-reviewed journals, gathering data on authors, publication year, journal, citations, affiliations, keywords, and references. Author affiliations were scrutinized to pinpoint institutions and countries. p values < 0.05 were deemed statistically significant. The most cited paper (703 citations) was authored by Salem et al. (2010), and the journal with the most publications (16) was Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology. There was no significant correlation between journal impact factor and citation metrics. A decreasing trend in the number of top 100 articles was observed since the peak period (2008–2013). Most papers were published in high-impact factor (IF > 3, n = 31/35) and SCImago Q1 journals (86/100), with Northwestern University, Clínica Universidad de Navarra, and Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich being the leading institutions. The most prolific authors were Salem, R., Lewandowski, R.J., and Mulcahy, M.F., with Salem, R. as the most influential. A statistically significant positive correlation between collaborative links and published articles was also discovered. Short conclusion: The top 100 cited articles were primarily published in high-impact journals, and Northwestern University and the USA showed greater productivity and collaboration. These findings have crucial implications for researchers, policymakers, and institutions, aiding in the improvement of Y90 application and understanding in clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital games are one of the most engaging forms of media. Players can have a first-hand experience and the possibility of feeling immersed within a digital setting where agency is exerted. This paper seeks to understand the role of digital games as new means of communication and their potential to convey messages that may defy gamers to question the moral grand narratives that shape contemporary societies. In a moment when many countries have opted to close or limit the circulation in their borders, it is important to think about the role played by the border as a historic liminal entity for the representation of societies and communities, distinguishing those who belong from those who do not. The representation of the border in digital games have tended to follow one of the main tropes explored in other media: the border as a physical space that set boundaries between different nations and different regions of the world. In order to assert the potential of digital games to offer a more comprehensive representation of the border as a liminal space, the case of Papers, Please! (2013) will be analyzed. Based on a qualitative methodology, having content analysis as primary data collection method, the paper intends to contribute to the discussion on how history may narrativized and, eventually, reinterpreted in digital games. Papers, Please! analysis will be centered on the relationship that is set between player and border, that is presented as a liminal space where the game's action takes places entirely. Moreover, the paper intends to discuss the role that has been played by digital games in the representation of serious topics and how they have evolved as communication tools beyond their role as entertainment products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background : The current UK standard for major trauma patients is to record notes in a paper trauma booklet. Through an innovative collaboration between a major trauma centre and a digital transformation industry partner, a TraumaApp was developed. Electronic notes have been shown to have fewer errors, granular data collection and enable time stamped contemporaneous record keeping. Implementation of digital clinical records presents a challenge within the context of trauma multidisciplinary trauma resuscitation. Data can be easily accessible and shared for quality improvement, audit and research purposes. This study compared paper and electronic notes for completeness and for acceptability data following the implementation of the TraumaApp. Methods: Trauma team members who performed scribe function attended training for the newly launched TraumaApp. Two staff members acted as scribe, using either the paper trauma booklet or TraumaApp, and attended major trauma calls. A framework for comparison of paper and electronic notes was created and used for a retrospective review of major trauma patients' notes. Statistical analysis was performed using a two-tailed t-test. Staff using the TraumaApp completed a System Usability Score questionnaire. Results: There was a total of 37 data points for collection per case. The mean numbers collected were paper notes 24.1 of 37 (65.1%) and electronic notes, 25.7 of 37 (69.5%). There was no statistical significance between the completeness of paper and electronic notes. The mean System Usability Score was 68.4. Discussion: Recording accurate patient information during a major trauma call can be challenging and the role of the scribe to accurately record events is critical for immediate and future care. There was no statistically significant difference in completeness of paper and electronic notes, however the mean System Usability Score was 68.4, which is greater than the internationally validated standard of acceptable usability. Conclusion: It is feasible to introduce digital data collection tools enabling accurate record keeping during trauma resuscitation and improve information sharing between clinicians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Research theses can have a significant impact on the development of applied sciences, especially when their results are published. Objective This study aims to determine publication rate of papers extracted from the medical residency and master’s degree theses of Guilan University of Medical Sciences (GUMS) during 2008-2018. Methods This is a descriptive cross-sectional study. The data were collected from the medical residency and master’s degree theses of GUMS from 2008 to 2018. Then, they were searched in international and national databases according to the title, keywords, and names of supervisors, advisors, and students. Results Of 774 theses, 449 (58 %) papers had been extracted and published in journals indexed by ISI/ PubMed (41.2%), Scopus (11.8%), BIOSIS, Chemical Abstract, and Embase (0.44%) and others (46.56%). Most of them (98.66%) were original research. Moreover, in 383(85.3%) of the theses, there was no statistician or data advisor. The median time from defending theses to the publication of a paper from them was two years. Conclusion The publication of papers extracted from the theses of GUMS has increased, and more than 50% of them have been published in journals indexed by ISI, PubMed, and Scopus. However, the factors associated with the publication of papers need to be surveyed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surface properties include both surface roughness and friction. With a stylus-type contact method, it is necessary to obtain either a surface roughness profile or a friction profile that is affected by stylus shape and size, its contact force on the sample, the scan speed, and the data acquisition rate. As a new surface parameter, the mean absolute deviation (MAD) from an average property has been introduced. It represents the deviation from either the roughness average (Ra) and the average coefficient of friction (COF), respectively. While Ra or average COF depends on the instrument and its operating conditions, the MAD should not depend on them because it represents the variations within the sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Novel survey methods are needed to tackle declining response rates. The 2020 National Maternity Survey included a randomised controlled trial (RCT) and social media survey to compare different combinations of sampling and data collection methods with respect to: response rate, respondent representativeness, prevalence estimates of maternity indicators and cost. Methods: A two-armed parallel RCT and concurrent social media survey were conducted. Women in the RCT were sampled from ONS birth registrations and randomised to either a paper or push-to-web survey. Women in the social media survey self-selected through online adverts. The primary outcome was response rate in the paper and push-to-web surveys. In all surveys, respondent representativeness was assessed by comparing distributions of sociodemographic characteristics in respondents with those of the target population. External validity of prevalence estimates of maternity indicators was assessed by comparing weighted survey estimates with estimates from national routine data. Cost was also compared across surveys. Results: The response rate was higher in the paper survey (n = 2,446) compared to the push-to-web survey (n = 2,165)(30.6% versus 27.1%, difference = 3.5%, 95%CI = 2.1–4.9, p < 0.0001). Compared to the target population, respondents in all surveys were less likely to be aged < 25 years, of Black or Minority ethnicity, born outside the UK, living in disadvantaged areas, living without a partner and primiparous. Women in the social media survey (n = 1,316) were less representative of the target population compared to women in the paper and push-to-web surveys. For some maternity indicators, weighted survey estimates were close to estimates from routine data, for other indicators there were discrepancies; no survey demonstrated consistently higher external validity than the other two surveys. Compared to the paper survey, the cost saving per respondent was £5.45 for the push-to-web survey and £22.42 for the social media survey. Conclusions: Push-to-web surveys may cost less than paper surveys but do not necessarily result in higher response rates. Social media surveys cost significantly less than paper and push-to-web surveys, but sample size may be limited by eligibility criteria and recruitment window and respondents may be less representative of the target population. However, reduced representativeness does not necessarily introduce more bias in weighted survey estimates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a new technique for analyzing phenomena occurring during the measurement of the strength properties of paper in the conditions of compression of the tested samples with forces acting in the paper plane. The technique is based on collecting data on the current distance of the clamps holding the tested sample and the force exerted on the sample using a universal testing machine and on the simultaneous recording of image sequence of the sample during the measurement. Next, the resulting images are subjected to processing and analysis, the purpose of which is to extract information about the shape of the sample edge in all phases of the measurement. Its advantage is the ability to determine the deflection arrow of the sample and describe its shape using the selected function given by the analytical parametric formula. It will be helpful in further research on the development of an analytical model describing the phenomena occurring during paper compression, and a method to determine the mechanism of paper destruction and the corresponding maximum force that destroys a paper sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The purpose of this study is the analysis of bibliometric studies of the medical most-cited papers. Materials and Methods: This applied and the scientometric study was conducted using retrospective bibliometric analysis methods. AScopus search was conducted and 883 articles were retrieved. After reviewing the titles and abstracts, 432 articles related to the purpose of this research were identified. Items such as year, journal, country, and institution were considered. Medical subject heading and NLM were applied for the subject categorization of articles. Given the dynamics of subject areas over time, only the content of 117 articles published in 2020 and 2021 were analyzed. These 117 articles have been reviewed with 11,700 most-cited articles. By reviewing 117 articles, the most productive journal, country, and institute in producing 11,700 articles were identified. Results: The findings have shown a significant number of these publications review 100 most-cited articles in the field of medicine. Articles pertaining to the Nervous System, Musculoskeletal System, Dentistry, Radiology, and Cardiovascular System are the most numerous among the publications. Conclusion: The results of this study allow readers to know the most productive countries, institutions, and journals of various subject areas, as well as the most influential fields and research trends in that subject area. The results of this study also identify subject areas for which the characteristics of their core articles have not yet been explored to plan future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Peer evaluation is the cornerstone of science evaluation. In this paper, we analyze whether or not a form of peer evaluation, the pre-publication selection of the best papers in Computer Science (CS) conferences, is better than random, when considering future citations received by the papers. Methods: Considering 12 conferences (for several years), we collected the citation counts from Scopus for both the best papers and the non-best papers. For a different set of 17 conferences, we collected the data from Google Scholar. For each data set, we computed the proportion of cases whereby the best paper has more citations. We also compare this proportion for years before 2010 and after to evaluate if there is a propaganda effect. Finally, we count the proportion of best papers that are in the top 10% and 20% most cited for each conference instance. Results: The probability that a best paper will receive more citations than a non best paper is 0.72 (95% CI = 0.66, 0.77) for the Scopus data, and 0.78 (95% CI = 0.74, 0.81) for the Scholar data. There are no significant changes in the probabilities for different years. Also, 51% of the best papers are among the top 10% most cited papers in each conference/year, and 64% of them are among the top 20% most cited. Discussion: There is strong evidence that the selection of best papers in Computer Science conferences is better than a random selection, and that a significant number of the best papers are among the top cited papers in the conference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why you should read this article: • To avoid bias in analysis, interpretation and generalisability of findings that can occur from missing data when using self-administered questionnaires • To develop strategies to prevent missing data in self-administered questionnaires • To understand the methodological and statistical considerations underlying the use of prevention strategies in quantitative studies Background: Self-administered questionnaires are efficient and low-cost ways of collecting data with wide cohorts. Nonetheless, their use in studies can result in a high occurrence of missing data, which can affect the statistical power, representativeness and generalisability of the findings. Imputation methods have been considered efficient statistical techniques for managing missing data. However, they have also been associated with limits, such as the risk of under-estimation of the effect, lower statistical power and decrease of correlation among variables. Recent studies have highlighted the importance of using prevention strategies to avoid missing data before the data are analysed. Aim: To identify strategies for preventing the occurrence of missing data and to discuss their effects, as well as their methodological and statistical considerations. Discussion: The article discusses prevention strategies related to the administration format and follow-up and reminders. Strategies such as the use of electronic tablets, email and telephone reminders are associated with lower rates of missing data in self-administered questionnaires. However, methodological and statistical limits, including the absence of a comparison group and statistical validation of the reported results, limits the capacity to establish robust consensus. Conclusion: Prevention strategies represent relevant and feasible avenues for handling missing data in a wide range of clinical, nursing and epidemiological research. More projects based on robust design are needed to ensure accurate and reliable data are collected from patients, families, communities and clinicians. Implications for practice: It is important for clinicians and nurses to understand the phenomenon of missing data and the strategies available to prevent missing data, to collect data representing the patients' and families' perspectives and experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined home country bias in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). Bibliographic information of publications in the NEJM from 2000 to 2019 was collected as data. Bibliometric analyses were performed to investigate the number of papers with one or more US‐based authors in the NEJM and compare this to other journals. Citation counts of US‐based and non‐US papers were calculated and compared. The results show that US‐based papers account for 65.44% of the NEJM papers, and the US share of the NEJM papers has remained stable in the examined years whereas in other journals the percentage decreased. More importantly, US‐based papers in the NEJM display significantly lower research impact compared with non‐US papers. The results suggest that US‐based papers are favoured by the NEJM and a home country bias may exist in the publication process of the journal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On-site surveys involving face-to-face interviews are implemented globally across many scientific disciplines. Incorporating new technologies into such surveys by using electronic devices is becoming more common and is widely viewed to be more cost-effective and accurate. However, Electronic Data Capture methods (EDC) when compared to traditional Paper-based Data Capture (PDC) are often implemented without proper evaluation of any changes in efficiency, especially from surveys in coastal and marine environments. A roving creel survey of recreational shore-based fishers in Western Australia in 2019 enabled a direct comparison between the two methods. Randomisation strategies were employed to ensure biases in using each technique were minimised. A total of 1,068 interviews with recreational fishers were undertaken with a total error rate of 5.1% (CI95%: 4.8–5.3%) for PDC and 3.1% (CI95%: 2.9–3.3%) for EDC. These results confirmed that EDC can reduce errors whilst increasing efficiency and decreasing cost, although some aspects of this platform could be improved with some streamlining. This study demonstrates how EDC can be successfully implemented in coastal and marine environments without compromising the randomised, stratified nature of a survey and highlights the cost-effectiveness of this method. Such findings can be widely applied to any discipline which uses face-to-face interviews for data collection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Delivery of major trauma care is complex and often fast paced. Clear and comprehensive documentation is paramount to support effective communication during complex clinical care episodes, and to allow collection of data for audit, research and continuous improvement. Clinical events are typically recorded on paper-based records that are developed for individual centres or systems. As one of the priorities laid out by the Scottish Trauma Network project was to develop an electronic data collection system, the TraumaApp was created as a data collection tool for major trauma that could be adopted worldwide.Methods: The study was performed as a service evaluation based at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital Emergency Department. Fifty staff members were recruited in pairs and listened to five paired major trauma standby and handover recordings. Participants were randomised to input data to the TraumaApp and one into the existing paper proforma. The time taken to input data add into was measured, along with time for clarifications and any errors made. Those using the app completed a System Usability Score.Results: No statistically significant difference was demonstrated between times taken for data entry for the digital and paper documentation, apart from the Case 5 Handover (p < 0.05). Case 1 showed a significantly higher time for clarifications and number of errors with digital data collection (p = 0.01 and p = 1.79E-05 respectively). There were no other differences between data for the app and the proforma. The mean System Usability score for this cohort was 75 out of 100, with a standard deviation of 17 (rounded to nearest integer).Conclusion: Digital real-time recording of clinical events using a tool such as the TraumaApp is comparable to completion of paper proforma. The System Usability Score for the TraumaApp was above the internationally validated standard of acceptable usability. There was no evidence of improvement in use over time or familiarity, most likely due to the brevity of the assessments and the refined user interface. This would benefit from further research, exploring data completeness and a potential mixed methods approach to explore training requirements for use of the TraumaApp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this state-of-the-art review, the authors explore the recent advancements in the topics of learning curve models and their estimation methods for manual operations and processes as well as the data collection and monitoring technologies used for supporting these. This objective is achieved by answering the following three research questions: (RQ1) What calculation methods for estimating the learning curve of a worker exist in the recent scientific literature? (RQ2) What other usages are manufacturing enterprises giving to the modern learning curve prediction models according to the recent scientific literature? and (RQ3) What data collection and monitoring technologies exist to automatically acquire the data needed to create and continuously update the learning curve of an assembly operator? To do so, the PRISMA methodology for literature reviews was used, only including journal articles and conference papers referencing the topic of manual operations and processes, and to fulfil the criteria of a state-of-the-art review, only the literary corpus generated in the last five years (from 2017 to 2022) was reviewed. The scientific databases where the explorative research was carried out were Scopus and Web of Science. Such research resulted in 11 relevant journal articles and international conference papers, which were first reviewed, synthesized, and then compared. Four estimating methods were found for learning curves, and one recently developed learning curve model was found. As for the data collection and monitoring technologies, six frameworks were found and reviewed. Lastly, in the discussion, different areas of opportunity were found in the current state-of-the-art, mainly by combining the existing learning curve models and their estimation methods and feeding these with modern real-time data collection and monitoring frameworks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study explores the everyday experiences of researchers in assessing their own and others' research, highlighting what "good" qualitative accounting research is from their perspectives. Design/methodology/approach: The analysis is based on interviews with accounting scholars from the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain and Australia, with diverse ethnic background and methodological preferences. Findings: Interviewees pointed to a plurality of practical, and to some extent tacit, ways in which they demonstrate and assess the quality of research, concerning "contribution", "consistency" and "confidence", with generalizability being seen as more controversial and difficult to attain. In general, interviewees highlighted the underlying ambiguity on what constitutes good research in the qualitative accounting community, contrasting it to the perceived stronger clarity to be found in the quantitative accounting community. This was seen as potentially strengthening the positions of "gatekeepers" in the accounting communities, and encouraging conformance and "signaling" behaviors, at the risk of hampering innovation. Originality/value: The main critical issues affecting qualitative research quality highlighted by interviewees concern the engagement with the world of practice, and with theory and literature, the importance of accounting for the analysis of qualitative data and for the messiness of the underlying process, and the implicit search for compliance with editors' and community's expectations and conventions. These findings suggest the need to continue debating how to assess the quality of qualitative research in everyday activities, and reflect on how to promote acceptance and openness to pluralism, in scientific communities, as well as in data collection, analysis, in the theorizing, and in connecting epistemology and methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previous research has found that a "web-push" approach to data collection, which involves contacting people by mail to request an Internet survey response while withholding a paper response option until later in the contact process, consistently achieves lower response rates than a "paper-only" approach, whereby all respondents are contacted and requested to respond by mail.Method: An experiment was designed, as part of the Millennium Cohort Family Study, to compare response rates, sample representativeness, and cost between a web-push and a paper-only approach; each approach comprised 3 stages of mail contacts. The invited sample (n = 4,935) consisted of spouses married to U.S. Service members, who had been serving in the military between 2 and 5 years as of October, 2011.Results: The web-push methodology produced a significantly higher response rate, 32.8% compared to 27.8%. Each of the 3 stages of postal contact significantly contributed to response for both treatments with 87.1% of the web-push responses received over the Internet. The per-respondent cost of the paper-only treatment was almost 40% higher than the web-push treatment group. Analyses revealed no meaningfully significant differences between treatment groups in representation.Conclusion: These results provide evidence that a web-push methodology is more effective and less expensive than a paper-only approach among young military spouses, perhaps due to their heavy reliance on the internet, and we suggest that this approach may be more effective with the general population as they become more uniformly internet savvy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes diary studies as a methodological choice for addressing crucial questions in qualitative process research. Diary studies unearth within-individual relationships that capture individual experiences and sense-making of these experiences in a processual manner. Therefore, using diary studies not only addresses the need for more dynamic methodological designs in qualitative research, but is advantageous for providing a process view of how the individual engages with the constructs studied. While process-studies, studied longitudinally, are often fraught with challenges of attrition or disengagement, this paper discusses how a methodological choice which is perceived as being beneficial by the participant can sustain engagement and consequently, research rigour. On one hand, a comparison of interview and diary data from the same participants show evidence of memory decay in interviews and reinforce the rigour of diary studies in the study of processual phenomenon. On the other hand, this study also showcases how researcher know-how, unintentionally imparted through reflective and processual questions asked in the study positively impacts the participants, and when reflected on, enhanced learning. This paper therefore demonstrates the ability of a research method to benefit both the research and the researched, and suggests a step-by-step design to implement a rigorous and impactful diary study using user-friendly forms and reflective questioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: As the industrial systems are growing complex these-days and data related to the system performance are recorded/collected from various resources under various practical constraints. If the collected data are used as such in the analysis, then they have high range of uncertainties occurred in the analysis and hence performance of the system cannot be done up to desired levels. Thus the main objective of the present work is to remove the uncertainties in the data up to a desired degree of accuracy by utilizing the uncertain, vague and limited data. For analysis of this, an artificial bee colony based Lambda–Tau (ABCBLT) methodology has been used in which expression of the reliability parameters are computed by using Lambda–Tau methodology and their membership functions are formulated by solving a nonlinear optimization problem with artificial bee colony (ABC) algorithm. A time varying failure rate has been used in the analysis instead of constant failure rate. A new RAM-Index has been proposed for ranking the systems’ components based on its performance. The technique has been demonstrated through a case study of press unit of a paper industry, situated in Northern part of India, producing 200tons of paper per day. The results computed by the proposed approach are compared with the Lambda–Tau methodology and concluded that they have a reduced region of prediction in comparison of existing technique region, i.e. uncertainties involved in the analysis are reduced. Thus, it may be a more useful analysis tool to assess the current system conditions and involved uncertainties. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Introduction: The utilization of internet-based data collection in mental health research has gained popularity for its convenience and affordability. However, concerns often arise regarding the validity and reliability of data collected via the internet. The Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) is a self-report questionnaire to measure the traits associated with autism spectrum disorder (Baron-Cohen et al. J Autism Dev Disord, 2001; 31 5-17) and the online usage of AQ is common and conducted with large numbers of participants across many studies. However, the effect of using internet-based data collection for AQ rather than conventional paper-based procedures is unknown. Objectives: To address this issue, we conducted a study comparing the effectiveness of internet-based and paper-based data collection procedures for both the AQ and Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21, Lovibond & Lovibond, Behav Res Ther 1995; 33 335–343), which is also a prevalent mental health measurement in the literature and often used for online data collection (Zlomke, Comput Hum Behav 2009; 25 841-843). In addition, to compare internet-based and paper-based methods more fully, we included another variable (type of supervision) where a researcher was either present or absent during the completion of the questionnaires. Methods: A power analysis was conducted, and a minimum of 90 participants were needed to reach a medium effect size of.30 with an adequate power of.80 at a=.05. Accordingly, 96 participants were used and randomly assigned across 4 data collection groups: internet-based (supervision, no supervision) and paper-based (supervision, no supervision). In addition to a Demographic Form, AQ, and DASS-21 were used to obtain the data. Three independent variables were used in the current study: type of presentation (internet-based and paper-based) and type of supervision as between factors, and type of assessment as a within factor. Results: Using a 2 x 2 x 2 mixed design ANOVA, no significant main effects were found for any independent variables (all p >.33) or interaction (all ps >.17). Conclusions: The results of using AQ and DASS-21 were not altered by using internet-based or paper-based data collection procedures, suggesting that both methodologies are equally valid for this purpose. Moreover, these effects were also unaffected by the presence or absence of a researcher during data collection, suggesting that supervision by an authoritative figure does not alter the responses made. Disclosure of Interest: None Declared [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Before organizing mixed-mode data collection for the self-administered questionnaire of the Belgian Health Interview Survey, measurement effects between the paper-and-pencil and the web-based questionnaire were evaluated. A two-period cross-over study was organized with a sample of 149 employees of two Belgian research institutes (age range 22–62 years, 72% female). Measurement agreement was assessed for a diverse range of health indicators related to general health, mental and psychosocial health, health behaviors and prevention with kappa coefficients and intraclass correlation (ICC). The quality of the data collected by both modes was evaluated by quantifying the missing, ‘don’t know’ and inconsistent values and data entry mistakes. Good to very good agreement was found for all categorical indicators with kappa coefficients superior to 0.60, except for two mental and psychosocial health indicators namely the presence of a sleeping disorder and of a depressive disorder (kappa≥0.50). For the continuous indicators high to acceptable agreement was observed with ICC superior to 0.70. Inconsistent answers and data-entry mistakes were only occurring in the paper-and-pencil mode. There were no less missing values in the web-based mode compared to the paper-and-pencil mode. The study supports the idea that web-based modes provide, in general, equal responses to paper-and-pencil modes. However, health indicators based upon factual and objective items tend to have higher measurement agreement than indicators requiring an assessment of personal subjective feelings. A web-based mode greatly facilitates the data-entry process and guides the completing of a questionnaire. However, item non-response was not positively affected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: In medical and clinical education, creating critical thinking and promoting clinical reasoning abilities are the highest aims and results of education. The main aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of digital case scenarios versus print/paper case scenarios on clinical reasoning in problem-based learning (PBL). If a study used the multimedia scenario case interventions, video case scenarios and online-guided scenarios as digital case PBL, we would consider it eligible. Methods: The study was a systematic review and meta-analysis. A comprehensive search for all randomized controlled trials, systematic reviews and meta-analyses for digital case scenarios versus paper case scenarios in PBL were conducted using Medline (Ovid), Scopus, ISI Web of Science and CINAHL. Google Scholar was used to follow the bibliographies of the related papers to create an exhaustive data set. Search results were limited to the years 2003-2013. Results: Our searches yielded 65 hits. After initial screenings of the titles and abstracts, we assessed the full texts of studies. Five eligible studies with 222 students were included in the meta-analysis. The meta-analysis showed that both of the digital and paper-based scenarios have similar impacts on clinical reasoning. But the review of papers showed that 73% of students are more satisfied with digital scenarios in comparison with paper-based scenarios and found that digital scenarios are 90% more time saving than paper-based scenarios. Conclusion: According to the results of meta-analysis, efficacy of digital-based scenarios is similar to the efficacy of paper-based scenarios while simultaneously creating more satisfaction and saving the time of students and teachers; therefore, it is suggested that electronic PBL be used rather than paper-based in all levels of medical education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using digital data collection devices in the field is now commonplace among many faculty and students. However, there is less attention to how the use of GPS units, tablets and devices transforms or alters our understanding of the field itself. Does the embrace of the digital simply replace paper, or does it fundamentally transform our ways of knowing? What do we gain and what do we lose as we move from paper to digital in the acts of doing fieldwork? What are the limits of technology in the field and after the field? In this paper, I wrestle with these questions through my own fieldwork experiences through two story-telling narratives. In the first, I discuss the process of documenting pastoralists' cattle movement through GPS units, while in the second I relay the process of using tourists as volunteer citizen scientists for wildlife monitoring efforts. Through these examples, I demonstrate a number of key lessons for fieldwork with digital devices and call for a more thorough understanding of the dialectics between devices and users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study on a paper-and-pencil alternative called Quest-Sort to the card-sorting approach in gathering Q data. It provides information on Quest-Sort which represents a composite of a card slot and questionnaire, reducing administration costs in space and time requirements. It compares Quest-Sort with the traditional card-sorting approach and explores the results of two experimental validation studies.

Objective: Electronic data collection (EDC) has become a suitable alternative to paper based data collection (PBDC) in biomedical research even in resource poor settings. During a survey in Nepal, data were collected using both systems and data entry errors compared between both methods. Collected data were checked for completeness, values outside of realistic ranges, internal logic and date variables for reasonable time frames. Variables were grouped into 5 categories and the number of discordant entries were compared between both systems, overall and per variable category. Results: Data from 52 variables collected from 358 participants were available. Discrepancies between both data sets were found in 12.6% of all entries (2352/18,616). Differences between data points were identified in 18.0% (643/3580) of continuous variables, 15.8% of time variables (113/716), 13.0% of date variables (140/1074), 12.0% of text variables (86/716), and 10.9% of categorical variables (1370/12,530). Overall 64% (1499/2352) of all discrepancies were due to data omissions, 76.6% (1148/1499) of missing entries were among categorical data. Omissions in PBDC (n = 1002) were twice as frequent as in EDC (n = 497, p < 0.001). Data omissions, specifically among categorical variables were identified as the greatest source of error. If designed accordingly, EDC can address this short fall effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The study tests the effects of data collection modes on patient responses associated with the multi-item measures such as Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement System (PROMIS®), and single-item measures such as Patient-Reported Outcomes version of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (PRO-CTCAE), and Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) measures. Methods: Adult cancer patients were recruited from five cancer centers and administered measures of anxiety, depression, fatigue, sleep disturbance, pain intensity, pain interference, ability to participate in social roles and activities, global mental and physical health, and physical function. Patients were randomized to complete the measures on paper (595), interactive voice response (IVR, 596) system, or tablet computer (589). We evaluated differential item functioning (DIF) by method of data collection using the R software package, lordif. For constructs that showed no DIF, we concluded equivalence across modes if the equivalence margin, defined as ± 0.20 × pooled SD, completely surrounds 95% confidence intervals (CI's) for difference in mean score. If the 95% CI fell totally outside the equivalence margin, we concluded systematic score difference by modes. If the 95% CI partly overlaps the equivalence margin, we concluded neither equivalence nor difference. Results: For all constructs, no DIF of any kind was found for the three modes. The scores on paper and tablet were more comparable than between IVR and other modes but none of the 95% CI's were completely outside the equivalence margins, in which we established neither equivalence nor difference. Percentages of missing values were comparable for paper and tablet modes. Percentages of missing values were higher for IVR (2.3% to 6.5% depending on measures) compared to paper and tablet modes (0.7% to 3.3% depending on measures and modes), which was attributed to random technical difficulties experienced in some centers. Conclusion: Across all mode comparisons, there were some measures with CI's not completely contained within the margin of small effect. Two visual modes agreed more than visual-auditory pairs. IVR may induce differences in scores unrelated to constructs being measured in comparison with paper and tablet. The users of the surveys should consider using IVR only when paper and computer administration is not feasible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a product purity study of recycled Li-ion batteries with a focus on hydrometallurgical recycling processes. Firstly, a brief description of the current recycling status was presented based on the research data. Moreover, this work presented the influence of impurities such as Cu, Fe and Mg on recovered cathode materials performance. The impact of the impurities was described depending on their form (metallic or ionic) and concentration. This work also reviewed hydrometallurgical recycling processes depending on the recovered material, obtained purity and recovery methods. This purity data were obtained from both research and battery industry actors. Finally, the purity study was completed by collecting data regarding commercial battery-grade chemical compounds and active lithium cathode materials, including required purity levels and allowed impurity limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this qualitative study, based on the Survey Method, was to introduce a new technique to collect data on educational practices. For this purpose, a sample practice was designed to implement with a volunteer study group comprising 36 editors in a publishing company. The task details of the sample practice were determined via DACUM (Developing a Curriculum) method in order to analyze the tasks and the job description of editors in a publishing company. In that way, thirteen tasks were determined for the participant editors. During the implementation phase of the new technique called "Storage Technique", a sheet of colorful paper was delivered to each participant, they were invited to think and write down whatever came uppermost as a task of an editor, and to fold the paper. The papers folded were put in to a fishbowl. After all participants put their folded papers in the bowl, they were invited to pick a paper in the color other than theirs, and to write the task written in that paper if it was different from their own. The process was repeated for three rounds, and consequently, three different task descriptions were obtained from each participant editor. Finally, 7 out of 36 participants were interviewed to get their viewpoints about the technique administered in the process. For the analysis of the data, the descriptive analysis was utilized. The result of the study revealed that the Storage Technique could be applied effectively for the collection of the data in the fields of Education and Teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The original article can be found online at https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-023-01833-8.Correction: BMC Med Res Methodol 23, 10 (2023)https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-023-01833-8Following publication of the original article [[1]], the authors reported an error in the Fig. 4: the colours in the pie charts in Fig. 4 do not all correspond with the legend. See the Fig. 4 corrected.Graph: Fig. 4 Breakdown of total costs across the surveysThe original article [[1]] has been updated.By Siân Harrison; Fiona Alderdice and Maria A. QuigleyReported by Author; Author; Author [Extracted from the article]

Copyright of Environmental & Social Management Journal / Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental is the property of Environmental & Social Management Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

With teams growing in all areas of scientiic and scholarly research, we explore the relationship between team structure and the character of knowledge they produce. Drawing on 89,575 self-reports of team member research activity underlying scientiic publications, we show how individual activities cohere into broad roles of 1) leadership through the direction and presentation of research and 2) support through data collection, analysis, and discussion.he hidden hierarchy of a scientiic team is characterized by its lead (or L) ratio of members playing leadership roles to total team size.he L ratio is validated through correlation with imputed contributions to the speciic paper and to science as a whole, which we use to efectively extrapolate the L ratio for 16,397,750 papers where roles are not explicit. We ind that, relative to lat, egalitarian teams, tall, hierarchical teams produce less novelty and more often develop existing ideas, increase productivity for those on top and decrease it for those beneath, and increase shortterm citations but decrease long-term inluence.hese efects hold within person--the same person on the same-sized team produces science much more likely to disruptively innovate if they work on a lat, high-L-ratio team.hese results suggest the critical role lat teams play for sustainable scientiic advance and the training and advancement of scientists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The collection and use of data on climate change and its impacts are crucial for effective climate adaptation and climate risk management. The revolution in internet access, technology and costs has led to a shift from using traditional paper‐based data collection to the use of Mobile Data Collection using Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) such as smartphones and tablets. In this paper, we report our experiences using both approaches for a household and business survey during a climate adaptation study in two Nigerian cities—Makurdi and Calabar. The focus of this paper is to evaluate and compare the effectiveness of using traditional paper‐based data collection and PDAs as data collection tools for climate change study in African societies. In Calabar, data were collected using paper questionnaires, while in Makurdi the questionnaires were developed on Open Data Kit (ODK) and administered using PDAs. Results show that data collection using PDA was faster, cheaper, more accurate and resulted in fewer omissions than paper‐based data collection. There was a time saving of four (4) minutes per questionnaire and a 24% cost saving when using PDA. PDA provides additional benefits where platforms can collect images, videos and coordinates. This significantly improved the credibility of the data collection process and provided further data that allowed for the mapping of environmental phenomena by linking survey research with geo‐referenced data in a geographic information systems platform to provide spatial representations of social and environmental system convergence. PDA offers a tool for collecting data that will make necessary socio‐environmental data available in a faster, reliable and cheaper manner; future research can build on this study by discovering other possible but less highlighted benefits of PDA. Although, with great benefits, there are lessons to be learnt and issues to consider when deploying PDA in large‐scale household surveys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background For disease surveillance, manual data collection using paper-based questionnaires can be time consuming and prone to errors. We introduced smartphone data collection to replace paperbased data collection for an influenza sentinel surveillance system in four hospitals in Kenya. We compared the quality, cost and timeliness of data collection between the smartphone data collection system and the paper-based system. Methods Since 2006, the Kenya Ministry of Health (MoH) with technical support from the Kenya Medical Research Institute/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KEMRI/CDC) conducted hospital-based sentinel surveillance for influenza in Kenya. In May 2011, the MOH replaced paper-based collection with an electronic data collection system using Field Adapted Survey Toolkit (FAST) on HTC Touch Pro2 smartphones at four sentinel sites. We compared 880 paper-based questionnaires dated Jan 2010-Jun 2011 and 880 smartphone questionnaires dated May 2011-Jun 2012 from the four surveillance sites. For each site, we compared the quality, cost and timeliness of each data collection system. Results Incomplete records were more likely seen in data collected using pen-and-paper compared to data collected using smartphones (adjusted incidence rate ratio (aIRR) 7, 95% CI: 4.4-10.3). Errors and inconsistent answers were also more likely to be seen in data collected using penand-paper compared to data collected using smartphones (aIRR: 25, 95% CI: 12.5-51.8). Smartphone data was uploaded into the database in a median time of 7 days while paperbased data took a median of 21 days to be entered (p < 0.01). It cost USD 1,501 (9.4%) more to establish the smartphone data collection system ($17,500) than the pen-and-paper system (USD $15,999). During two years, however, the smartphone data collection system was $3,801 (7%) less expensive to operate ($50,200) when compared to pen-and-paper system ($54,001). Conclusions Compared to paper-based data collection, an electronic data collection system produced fewer incomplete data, fewer errors and inconsistent responses and delivered data faster. Although start-up costs were higher, the overall costs of establishing and running the electronic data collection system were lower compared to paper-based data collection system. Electronic data collection using smartphones has potential to improve timeliness, data integrity and reduce costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dataset includes data from the two studies reported in our 'Terror Management in a Multicultural Society' paper. The data was collected at the psychology lab at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in 2013/2014 among Dutch-speaking student samples. The dataset consists of the measures described in the paper. The data can be used for replication purposes, meta-analyses, and exploratory analyses, as well as cross-cultural comparisons of mortality salience effects. The authors also welcome collaborative research based on re-analyses of the data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study compares the quality of responses to eight matrix questions (36 variables) included in a survey administered on paper and by computer in two equivalent samples. Three criteria have considerated: 1) the average of non-response questions for each mode; 2) the repetition (or not) of the same response in different question items (differentiation); and, 3) the choice of extreme and middle response alternatives on the scale (easy responses). The paper questionnaires provided a greater number of non-response questions, with no change in non-response rates when taking into account scale range: 4, 5, 10 and 11 categories. The electronic questionnaire showed slightly greater differentiation and fewer extreme responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study compares the quality of responses to eight matrix questions (36 variables) included in a survey administered on paper and by computer in two equivalent samples. Three criteria have considerated: 1) the average of non-response questions for each mode; 2) the repetition (or not) of the same response in different question items (differentiation); and, 3) the choice of extreme and middle response alternatives on the scale (easy responses). The paper questionnaires provided a greater number of non-response questions, with no change in non-response rates when taking into account scale range: 4, 5, 10 and 11 categories. The electronic questionnaire showed slightly greater differentiation and fewer extreme responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Rapid advances in mobile technologies and applications and the continued growth in digital network coverage have the potential to transform data collection in low- and middle-income countries. A common perception is that digital data collection (DDC) is faster and quickly adaptable.Objective: The objective of this study was to test whether DDC is faster and more adaptable in a roadside environment. We conducted a reliability study comparing digital versus paper data collection in 3 cities in Ghana, Vietnam, and Indonesia observing road safety risk factors in real time.Methods: Roadside observation of helmet use among motorcycle passengers, seat belt use among 4-wheeler passengers, and speeding was conducted in Accra, Ghana; Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam; and Bandung, Indonesia. Two independent data collection teams were deployed to the same sites on the same dates and times, one using a paper-based data collection tool and the other using a digital tool. All research assistants were trained on paper-based data collection and DDC. A head-to-head analysis was conducted to compare the volume of observations, as well as the prevalence of each risk factor. Correlations (r) for continuous variables and kappa for categorical variables are reported with their level of statistical significance.Results: In Accra, there were 119 observation periods (90-min each) identical by date, time, and location during the helmet and seat belt use risk factor data collection and 118 identical periods observing speeding prevalence. In Bandung, there were 150 observation periods common to digital and paper data collection methods, whereas in HCMC, there were 77 matching observation periods for helmet use, 82 for seat belt use, and 84 for speeding. Data collectors using paper tools were more productive than their DDC counterparts during the study. The highest mean volume per session was recorded for speeding, with Bandung recording over 1000 vehicles on paper (paper: mean 1092 [SD 435]; digital: mean 807 [SD 261]); whereas the lowest volume per session was from HCMC for seat belts (paper: mean 52 [SD 28]; digital: mean 62 [SD 30]). Accra and Bandung showed good-to-high correlation for all 3 risk factors (r=0.52 to 0.96), with higher reliability in speeding and helmet use over seat belt use; HCMC showed high reliability for speeding (r=0.99) but lower reliability for helmet and seat belt use (r=0.08 to 0.32). The reported prevalence of risk factors was comparable in all cities regardless of the data collection method.Conclusions: DDC was convenient and reliable during roadside observational data collection. There was some site-related variability in implementing DDC methods, and generally the productivity was higher using the more familiar paper-based method. Even with low correlations between digital and paper data collection methods, the overall reported population prevalence was similar for all risk factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To give an overview of the multicenter Prostate Cancer Outcomes (PCO) study, involving paper-based and web-based collection of patient-reported outcome measures (PROM) in patients undergoing local treatment for prostate cancer in certified centers in Germany. The PCO study is part of the larger Movember-funded TrueNTH Global Registry. The article reports on the study's design and provides a brief progress report after the first 2 years of data collection. Methods: Prostate cancer centers (PCCs) certified according to German Cancer Society requirements were invited to participate in collecting patient-reported information on symptoms and function before and at least once (at 12 months) after treatment. The data were matched with disease and treatment information. This report describes progress in patient inclusion, response rate, and variations between centers relative to online/paper use, and also data quality, including recruitment variations relative to treatment in the first participating PCCs. Results: PCC participation increased over time; 44 centers had transferred data for 3094 patients at the time of this report. Patient recruitment varied widely across centers. Recruitment was highest among patients undergoing radical prostatectomy. The completeness of the data was good, except for comorbidity information. Conclusions: The PCO study benefits from a quality improvement system first established over 10 years ago, requiring collection and harmonization of a predefined clinical dataset across centers. Nevertheless, establishing a PROM routine requires substantial effort on the part of providers and constant monitoring in order to achieve high-quality data. The findings reported here may be useful for guiding implementation in similar initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Belügyi Szemle / Academic Journal of Internal Affairs is the property of Ministry of Interior of Hungary and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article discusses how one might assess the quality of quantitative research with reference to a randomized controlled trial. Topics include how blinding is helpful in preventing changes in the behaviors of the research team or the participant, be these conscious or subconscious, and various stages of the research process during which bias might occur and use these to explain what a researcher might consider when designing a study.

Background Electronic Case Report Forms (eCRFs) are increasingly chosen by investigators and sponsors of clinical research instead of the traditional pen-and-paper data collection (pCRFs). Previous studies suggested that eCRFs avoided mistakes, shortened the duration of clinical studies and reduced data collection costs. Methods Our objectives were to describe and contrast both objective and subjective efficiency of pCRF and eCRF use in clinical studies. A total of 27 studies (11 eCRF, 16 pCRF) sponsored by the Paris hospital consortium, conducted and completed between 2001 and 2011 were included. Questionnaires were emailed to investigators of those studies, as well as clinical research associates and data managers working in Paris hospitals, soliciting their level of satisfaction and preferences for eCRFs and pCRFs. Mean costs and timeframes were compared using bootstrap methods, linear and logistic regression. Results The total cost per patient was 374 € ±351 with eCEFs vs. 1,135 € ± ±351 with eCEFs between the opening of the first center and the database lock was 31.7 months Q1 = 24.6; Q3 = 42.8 using eCRFs, vs. 39.8 months Q1 = 31.7; Q3 = 52.2 with pCRFs (p = 0.11). Electronic CRFs were globally preferred by all (31/72 vs. 15/72 for paper) for easier monitoring and improved data quality. Conclusions This study found that eCRFs and pCRFs are used in studies with different patient numbers, center numbers and risk. The first ones are more advantageous in large, low-risk studies and gain support from a majority of stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents TimelinePTC, a web-based tool developed to improve the collection and analysis of Pathways to Care (PTC) data in first episode psychosis (FEP) research. Accurately measuring the duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) is essential for effective FEP treatment, requiring detailed understanding of the patient's journey to care. However, traditional PTC data collection methods, mainly manual and paper-based, are time-consuming and often fail to capture the full complexity of care pathways. TimelinePTC addresses these limitations by providing a digital platform for collaborative, real-time data entry and visualization, thereby enhancing data accuracy and collection efficiency. Initially created for the Specialized Treatment Early in Psychosis (STEP) program in New Haven, Connecticut, its design allows for straightforward adaptation to other healthcare contexts, facilitated by its open-source codebase. The tool significantly simplifies the data collection process, making it more efficient and user-friendly. It automates the conversion of collected data into a format ready for analysis, reducing manual transcription errors and saving time. By enabling more detailed and consistent data collection, TimelinePTC has the potential to improve healthcare access research, supporting the development of targeted interventions to reduce DUP and improve patient outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatial interaction models with spatial origin-destination (OD) filters are powerful tools to characterize trip flows in space, which is a classic and important problem in regional science. To the authors' knowledge, existing studies adopting OD filters mostly specify the spatial dependence as an autoregressive process, which may not be the full picture of spatial effects. To examine the problem, this paper proposes the hypotheses that 1) spatial OD dependences can take place in both the spatial autoregressive term and the spatial error term in a spatial interaction model. 2) Estimating a spatial autoregressive model with spatial autoregressive disturbances (SARAR) model with OD filters would disentangle where the spatial dependence exists and by how much. 3) The marginal effects obtained from SARAR models would be preferred to analysts when SARAR models outperform spatial autoregressive (SAR) models and spatial error models (SEM) from the statistical point of view. To assess these hypotheses, this paper specifies, estimates, and applies SARAR models with OD filters to investigate trip distributions. By comparing against alternative models, this paper investigates the estimation results in SAR, SEM and SARAR models using an empirical data collected from Hangzhou, China. The contribution of this paper is to be the first in developing an SARAR model with OD filters for trip distribution analyses and examining its performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper highlights the importance of the collection of data that is of suitable quality and of appropriate frequency and/or spatial intensity for the monitoring of aquatic systems. The advantages of automated techniques, such as flow analysis, in monitoring are emphasized, as is the selection of parameters that address the objectives of monitoring. The potential of nascent microfluidic and paper-based analytical techniques as tools for water quality monitoring is examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collision accidents involving construction vehicles and workers frequently occur at construction sites. Computer vision (CV) technology presents an efficient solution for collision-risk pre-warning. However, CV-based methods are still relatively rare and need an enhancement of their performance. Therefore, a novel three-stage collision-risk pre-warning model for construction vehicles and workers is proposed in this paper. This model consists of an object-sensing module (OSM), a trajectory prediction module (TPM), and a collision-risk assessment module (CRAM). In the OSM, the YOLOv5 algorithm is applied to identify and locate construction vehicles and workers; meanwhile, the DeepSORT algorithm is applied to the real-time tracking of the construction vehicles and workers. As a result, the historical trajectories of vehicles and workers are sensed. The original coordinates of the data are transformed to common real-world coordinate systems for convenient subsequent data acquisition, comparison, and analysis. Subsequently, the data are provided to a second stage (TPM). In the TPM, the optimized transformer algorithm is used for a real-time trajectory prediction of the construction vehicles and workers. In this paper, we enhance the reliability of the general object detection and trajectory prediction methods in the construction environments. With the assistance afforded by the optimization of the model's hyperparameters, the prediction horizon is extended, and this gives the workers more time to take preventive measures. Finally, the prediction module indicates the possible trajectories of the vehicles and workers in the future and provides these trajectories to the CRAM. In the CRAM, the worker's collision-risk level is assessed by a multi-factor-based collision-risk assessment rule, which is innovatively proposed in the present work. The multi-factor-based assessment rule is quantitatively involved in three critical risk factors, i.e., velocity, hazardous zones, and proximity. Experiments are performed within two different construction site scenarios to evaluate the effectiveness of the collision-risk pre-warning model. The research results show that the proposed collision pre-warning model can accurately predict the collision-risk level of workers at construction sites, with good tracking and predicting effect and an efficient collision-risk pre-warning strategy. Compared to the classical models, such as social-GAN and social-LSTM, the transformer-based trajectory prediction model demonstrates a superior accuracy, with an average displacement error of 0.53 m on the construction sites. Additionally, the optimized transformer model is capable of predicting six additional time steps, which equates to approximately 1.8 s. The collision pre-warning model proposed in this paper can help improve the safety of construction vehicles and workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the estimation of global karst carbon sink, a few conventional methods usually require the parameters that are difficult to measure, resulting in the big cost. Moreover, under the constraints of incomplete and timeliness issues in the collection of data over a large region, it has remained a challenge for these methods to study global karst carbon sink. Therefore, this paper proposes estimating the global karst carbon sink, and analyzing the suitability of the response surface methodology and the fluctuating variation of karst carbon sink in global karst regions from 1951 to 2050. This paper shows that the proposed method can reduce the time of numerical calculation and is suitable for application in global weathering models; The global karst carbon sink in the future changes not only displays an upward trend but also exposures its fluctuating trend largely. This fluctuation is probably due to global warming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a report on experiences with paper- and personal digital assistant (PDA)-based data collection, during a study of community-acquired bloodstream infections in Pemba Island, Zanzibar, Tanzania. It is concluded that electronic data collection has several merits and has the potential to replace paper-based data collection. As stated, direct data entry using an electronic device is gaining popularity and has been able to replace the paper-based data entry system in several studies. The background, methods, results, and conclusions of the report, are discussed in detail.

Abstract: Objectives: The goal of this study was to provide recommended steps to assess measurement comparability using a crossover study design and to demonstrate these steps using a short patient-reported outcome (PRO) instrument as an example. Methods: The example PRO instrument was administered via paper, Web, interactive voice response system, and interview; a randomized crossover design was used to gather data across the multiple administration types. Participants completed the PRO instrument, demographic and health questions, and a short preference questionnaire. Evaluation included comparisons of the item-level responses and agreement, comparison of mean scale scores, score classifications, and questions designed to collect usability and administration preference. Here the authors provide a four-step evaluation guide to evaluate measurement comparability and illustrate these steps using a case-finding tool. Results: In the example, item-level kappa statistics between the paper and the alternate versions ranged from good to excellent, intraclass correlation coefficient for mean scores were above 0.70, and the rate of disagreement ranged from 2% to 14%. In addition, although participants had an administration preference, they reported few difficulties with the versions they were assigned. Conclusions: The steps described in this article provide a guide for evaluating whether to combine scores across administration versions to simplify analyses and interpretation under a crossover design. The guide recommends the investigation of item-level responses, summary scores, and participant usability/preference when comparing versions, with each step providing unique information to support comprehensive evaluation and informed decisions regarding whether to combine data. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study aims to determine the composition and the weight of individual single-use items (SUIs) generated in the selected fast-food restaurants (FFRs) in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data of SUIs consumed per day from 126 FFRs covering six popular fast food companies (FFCs). At the same time, waste from 30 FFRs was collected, and its composition and weight were determined. Consequently, the amount and composition of the waste varied among the studied FFCs and is dependent on the food menu, the number of franchises for each FFC, customer number, size, and the type of SUIs used at these restaurants. Total waste collected across the six FFCs was 6 t.d-1 and was equivalent to 1560 t.yr-1 in HCMC. Of which, singleuse plastic items (SUPIs) waste and single-use paper items (SUPaIs) waste accounted for 39% and 28%, respectively. The total weight of unnecessary SUPIs (condiment containers, straws, and forks) generated was about 44 t.yr-1. The results suggest that the necessity of standardizing the type and size of the SUIs used at the FFRs, phasing out the use of unnecessary SUPIs, improving the local waste management practices through material recovery and recycling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]